S2 Ep1005: Michael Lewis: Government Workers Aren't the Corrupt Ones

S2 Ep1005: Michael Lewis: Government Workers Aren't the Corrupt Ones

Trump loves to complain about the deep state while Elon claims he's rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse with all his mass firings. But DOGE should be looking higher up the food chain to target the graft: for example, the South African immigrant whose car company would not have gotten off the ground without the taxpayer money he still collects. In contrast, government workers are mainly mission-driven and they're not in it for the money. Michael's new collection of essays takes a look at some of the characters who populate our federal workforce, including people performing small miracles without fame and glory. Plus, the risk of Trump politicizing economic data and his plan to destroy whatever trust people still have in the government.

Michael Lewis—and Sarah Vowell, who profiled a record keeper at the National Archives for the new book—join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes

Episoder(500)

Laura Rozen and Sonny Bunch: War and Dystopia

Laura Rozen and Sonny Bunch: War and Dystopia

Before the bombs and the missiles started falling on Iran, Trump sent Jared and Witkoff to try to cut a deal with Tehran. But his two favorite emissaries with no expertise in world affairs fundamental...

10 Mar 56min

Sarah Longwell: No One Should Trust this Government

Sarah Longwell: No One Should Trust this Government

Unless the administration is keeping some closely-guarded secret about why America went to war against Iran, the only thing officialdom is saying out loud is that Netanyahu wanted us to. And now Trump...

9 Mar 1h 4min

Neera Tanden: Absolute Power Corrupts

Neera Tanden: Absolute Power Corrupts

Republicans and the Supreme Court have put basically no guardrails on Trump, so he started a global war that is costing taxpayers $1 billion a day. He shrugs about soldiers dying, and he lies about th...

6 Mar 1h 3min

Derek Thompson: Ruling by Emergency

Derek Thompson: Ruling by Emergency

Not only is Trump failing to provide any clarity on why the United States went to war against Iran, the administration is also sticking to its habit of declaring an emergency based on some arcane lega...

5 Mar 1h 5min

Morris Katz: Tax the Billionaires

Morris Katz: Tax the Billionaires

The starting kit for a unified Democratic Party with the biggest, broadest tent should be calling out the billionaire class that is sabotaging our political system, our healthcare system, and driving ...

4 Mar 1h

Mark Hertling and Ruben Gallego: A Rush to War

Mark Hertling and Ruben Gallego: A Rush to War

The facts on the ground and the ludicrous statements speak for themselves: The administration inadequately planned for the execution of this war. That's likely why six service members were killed in a...

3 Mar 1h 10min

Bill Kristol: A Madman's Way of War

Bill Kristol: A Madman's Way of War

Trump cannot enunciate a clear reason for why he's chosen to go to war against Iran, and the administration is not even bothering to coordinate a message that clarifies its objective. While the milita...

2 Mar 56min

Amanda Carpenter: Let the Media Dinosaurs Die

Amanda Carpenter: Let the Media Dinosaurs Die

Trump’s head is stuck in the 80s so he may not have noticed that cable is dying. All he can think about is getting his greedy little hands on CNN so he can make them say nice things about him. But ind...

27 Feb 58min

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